New Battlefield 3 gameplay trailer, pre-order bonuses detailed

I’m really torn about Battlefield 3. I’ve been a huge fan of the Bad Company series and certainly lost a lot of time in Battlefield 1943, but I don’t feel I’ll be up for the true sequel to the original franchise. Without a PC to run it, I’m kind of disappointed the console versions will only support up to 24 players, which is what we’ve come to expect in Bad Company. Getting the same scale as the console spin-off just feels like I’m not getting the authentic spirit of the game.

In any case, DICE gives us another amazing trailer showcasing the new engine and features for the game. Frostbite 2, their “next-generation engine for current-generation platforms” sports some seriously impressive lighting, as well as destruction that seems a lot more unpredictable this time. The gameplay shown is standard – a little running, a little gunning, but it displays the return of going prone, something a few players complained about being absent in Bad Company.

The official Battlefield 3 site has also revealed the first tidbits about pre-order bonuses: reserving the game will net you the “Back to Karkand” expansion, including four legendary maps from Battlefield 2, weapons and vehicles, unique rewards, new achievements/trophies, and more. That’s a pretty big pre-order bonus; it sounds as robust as Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam (which was excellent). Battlefield 3 is scheduled for release this Fall 2011 on PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.